London 2012 damaging trade – Next - The Guardian

London 2012 damaging trade – Next - The Guardian

Fashion chain Next said the Olympics has hit trading in its London stores, as tourists and locals stay away leaving the capital a ghost town. Next is the first of the retailers to give a sense of current trading and will compound fears that the Games will fail to drag the UK out of recession by boosting the economy.

Next chief executive Lord Wolfson said its 23 shops in London had been "adversely affected" and he does not expect any kind of retail boost from the Olympics. "The two weeks of the Games for retail won't be good. As with any sporting event, people tend to stay in and watch them on television rather than go out shopping."

Next provided the formal wear for technical officials and athletes for the opening and closing ceremonies but said the contract did not affect its performance in the first half of 2012. "It's a nice thing to be able to do but it hasn't had a great impact either way," said Wolfson.

Instead, it was Next's barnstorming home-shopping business that helped drive sales up 4.5% in the first half, beating the chain's own forecasts. Despite the bleak economic environment, Next upped its targets for the year, forecasting sales growth of 2% to 4.5% this year, and pre-tax profits of £575m to £620m, compared with previous expectations of £560m to £610m.

Next Directory sales shot up 13.3% in the six months to July, as customers increasingly shop for clothes online. Wolfson said the growth in home shopping was not a result of the rain-soaked summer, and that online sales went up and down in line with sales in the shops. "The best weeks in the Directory were the warmest weeks in May. The main thing driving sales is whether people want summer clothing or not."

Sales in the high street stores were roughly the same as the first half last year, with a 0.2% increase. Like-for-like sales – which strip out any boost from new shops – dropped, but were offset by new store openings. Wolfson put that down to the "general consumer environment". "Virtually every retailer in the country will be planning for negative like-for-likes at the moment," he said.

He does not expect the economy to pick up in the second half of the year, but said it feels more resilient than was suggested by estimates that GDP fell by 0.7% in the second quarter.

"I don't believe the GDP numbers. We expect the economy to tread water for some time. The UK consumer has increased borrowing for about 15 years up until the credit crunch. The process of deleveraging [reducing debt] is going to be uncomfortable but not a disaster."

Eithne O'Leary of Oriel Securities said: "Even relative to heightened expectations, this morning's trading statement from Next is good." She praised Next's consistency and said, "Superior execution continues to distinguish Next Directory and the internet offering." The news sent Next shares up 6% on Wednesday morning to £34.22.

London 2012 badminton match-fixing 'not first time China have tried to manipulate results' - Daily Telegraph

"This does happen, statistics compiled last year by influential magazine Badzine saw that out of 99 all Chinese affairs, 20 of those were not completed or were walkovers," Gilmour said, "which suggests the Chinese head coaches have basically told their players that one of them would lose the match so the other would be fresh into the next round."

Boris Johnson invites Rupert Murdoch to London Olympics - BBC News

Boris Johnson invites Rupert Murdoch to London Olympics - BBC News

31 July 2012 Last updated at 14:10 ET

London Mayor Boris Johnson has invited News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch to attend the Olympics.

Mr Murdoch and his wife Wendi Deng are expected to join Mr Johnson on Friday.

The meeting is part of Mr Johnson's drive to use the Games to promote London to leading business figures and encourage investment.

Labour members on the London Assembly have questioned the "appropriateness" of the invitation.

Mr Johnson has invited a number of business leaders to enjoy the sport with him, with tickets provided by the London & Partners organisation.

London & Partners raises money from sponsorship and the private sector to promote the capital.

Mr Murdoch is chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, which has been at the centre of political controversy over allegations of phone-hacking at the News of the World.

He is a supporter of British sports through sponsorship of Team Sky cyclists, including Tour de France winner and London Olympic medal hopeful Bradley Wiggins.

Mr Johnson and Mr and Mrs Murdoch are expected to see British swimming star Rebecca Adlington in contention for a medal in the 800m freestyle.

A spokesman for the mayor said: "The Mayor has always said he would use the Games to shamelessly promote London as the leading business hub in Europe.

"With that aim in mind he's meeting, and will continue to meet, a range of business and media executives at or on the margins of Olympic events to further London's drive for investment that will spur jobs and growth."

Len Duvall, leader of the Labour Group on the London Assembly, said: "There are serious questions as to the appropriateness of Boris Johnson taking Mr Murdoch to the Olympics.

"An internal City Hall investigation is still underway after it was discovered the mayor had failed to declare meetings with Mr Murdoch. I do not think it is appropriate for the mayor to be entertaining Mr Murdoch in this way."

Earlier this month Mr Murdoch resigned from a string of directorships controlling his News Corporation's UK newspapers.

London Olympics 2012: Twitter 'alerted NBC to British journalist's critical tweets' - Daily Telegraph

Twitter and NBC entered into a partnership to cover to Olympic Games this month, with the technology company featuring highlighted tweets from sports insiders in return for on-air promotions. No money was exchanged in the deal, according to reports.

Twitter instigating a ban against a journalist who has been critical about one of their commercial partners is likely to raise questions as to the neutrality of the microblogging site and further anger those opposed to Mr Adams’s suspension.

Responding to NBC's claims, Mr Adams said it runs contrary to the microblogging site's corporate values.

"If what NBC is saying is true, it undermines everything that Twitter stands for and is an absolute disgrace and will aggravate many millions of its users," he told The Daily Telegraph.

"Their whole corporate ethos is that they never interfere with the flow of tweets. Something has gone very very wrong here.”

Mr Adams has been told that if he would like his access reinstated he must write an apology and acknowledge that he had broken their rules – something some pundits have disputed as he posted a widely accessible corporate email address.

“I don’t understand their rules, I haven’t done anything wrong and I think it sets a very ugly precedent for me to promise not to do it again," he added.

London 2012: Michael Phelps becomes the greatest Olympian - The Guardian

Twenty years after he first began to swim in suburban Baltimore, as a seven-year-old boy whose mother thought a pool might be the one place where he could conquer his chaotic excess of energy, Michael Phelps officially became the greatest Olympian in history. At exactly 9.04on Tuesday night, during a tumultuous session at the Aquatics Centre in Stratford, Phelps won his 19th Olympic medal, and his first gold of these Games, in the 4x200m relay.

He had finally broken the record held by Larisa Latynina. The gymnast from the former Soviet Union was awarded the last of her 18 medals in 1964. But Phelps's extraordinary feat was layered with the ambivalence of earlier shock and disappointment – as a much younger and uncelebrated rival stripped away his old invincibility.

Phelps had equalled Latynina's tally an hour before he swept past it. But a twist was buried deep inside a moment that was meant to be swathed in glory. The 200m butterfly, the event that has belonged to him for over a decade, ended in defeat and a silver medal when the South African Chad le Clos produced a blistering finish that just beat Phelps to the wall.

It was a conclusion that defined the exhilaration and pathos of sport. One of his greatest triumphs as an Olympian was entwined with a loss in a discipline in which he was meant to be indestructible. Undefeated at every Olympic and world championship final in the 200m butterfly since 2001, Phelps had not found the expected refuge from recent doubts and disappointments. The familiar embrace of his old supremacy had been ripped away from him the 20-year-old Le Clos.

"The pool," Phelps once said, "is a safe haven. Two walls at either end, lane lines on both sides, and a black stripe on the bottom for direction."

For the first 170m it did not look as if this giant of the water needed any of those black-striped pointers. Phelps spread the full might of his 6ft 7ins-wide wingspan and appeared on course for another inevitable win with his favourite version of butterfly. But Le Clos could not be broken. Suddenly, as the South African's surge gathered momentum, his own huge arms held the attention. He edged closer and closer but, with just 10 metres of water left, Phelps looked as if he might hang on to his title. Le Clos, however, drove still harder and won in a time of 1.52.96 – five hundredths of a second ahead of Phelps.

Le Clos's disbelief was plain and he only seemed able to fathom the depth of his victory when Phelps eventually paddled across the lanes to congratulate him. Le Clos, with his mixture of tears and laughter, could be forgiven for thinking only of his own first Olympic medal – rather than Phelps's iconic 18th.

This has been a strange and often uneasy Olympic Games for Phelps. He had cut a dejected figure on the opening night of London 2012 when he finished in a dispiriting fourth place in the 400m individual medley. The winner of that race, his team-mate Ryan Lochte, was hailed again as the new king of the pool. Meanwhile the old monarch, Phelps, reacted bluntly. "It was just a crappy race," he said.

It was the first time Phelps had failed to win a medal in an Olympic final since his debut at the age of 15 in 2000. At those Olympics in Sydney, Phelps's mother, Debbie, knew that his diagnosed ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) was helped by a total immersion in swimming. His anger towards his father, Fred, who had separated from his mother, was also soothed in the pool.

"I've always felt most at home in the water," Phelps once said at the height of his powers. "I disappear from the world. That's where I belong."

The long slow buildup to these Olympics had suggested the opposite. In the years after the record haul in Beijing in 2008, it often looked as if Phelps had grown bored of laying waste to rivals. Clearly, he was sick of the unremitting training schedule that underpinned his great prowess. The boy who once could not concentrate for long on anything had become a man of singular focus – but, in the wake of Beijing, and the six gold and two bronze medals he had also won in Athens in 2004, Phelps had almost had enough of a fixation with victory.

Somehow, a gluttonous craving still lingered and Phelps, in a surreal if telling suggestion, said of his quest to win still more medals in London: "It is really how many toppings do I want on my sundae? That's what I'm doing."

Phelps scooped up his first silver-coloured topping at London 2012 on Sunday night in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Swimming much more powerfully than the previous night Phelps, in the second leg, carved out a sizeable lead for the US – only to share everyone's surprise when Lochte was blitzed over the last 100m by France's Yannick Agnel. Phelps managed to sound as if he had found some pleasurable novelty in finishing second. "It's my first silver medal," he said in a soft exclamation as he looked at a colour which has since become more familiar.

The medal that shattered Latynina's record was a more fitting gold – as the US gained a measure of revenge over France. Significantly, Phelps was chosen to swim the last leg against Agnel, who had already won two golds at these Games.

But Lochte, Conor Dwyer and Ricky Berens presented Phelps with a relatively simple task. He began his own four lengths of the pool with a comfortable lead and even Agnel, who swam faster than Phelps, could not do more than eat into a small chunk of that gap.

As he touched the wall first Phelps knew that he had picked out two prize cherry-toppings for his big Olympic sundae. He had also enshrined his legacy with another historic seal. Some critics, many of whom have rarely had the privilege of watching Phelps swim in the blurring flesh, will continue to argue that it has been somehow "easier" for him to win such a dizzying amount of medals in a sport like swimming. But seeing him compete voraciously over the years in styles and distances which have tested his speed, endurance and desire has provided an unforgettable insight into his monumental achievement.

At the end, as victory settled over him in the pool, Phelps looked up at the curving arch of the Aquatic Centre and shot a small fountain of water from his mouth into the air.

Then, wearily but happily, he draped himself over the red lane divider and treaded water with his size 14 feet. His team-mates whooped and held their arms in the air. Phelps, before joining the celebrations, looked across his gleaming kingdom of water. The end is almost upon him as a swimmer; but, on a night of tangled and intense emotion, Olympic history finally belonged to Michael Phelps.

Ghost town London: Roads and rail deserted, shops and hotels empty as the Games put off visitors - Daily Mail

• Games have pulled 100,000 foreign tourists into the capital, much lower than the 300,000 expected in a typical summer
• Leading London attractions see visitor numbers fall by 35 per cent
• Hotel bookings in London 'very substantially down'
  
• Businesses near sailing venues in Weymouth and Portland say this year's summer tourist season is the worst in half a century
  

By James Chapman and Hugo Duncan

PUBLISHED: 17:55 EST, 30 July 2012 | UPDATED: 18:56 EST, 31 July 2012

Overblown warnings of Olympics travel chaos are turning key sites into ‘ghost towns’ and threatening Britain’s economic recovery, say business leaders.

Messages to stay away from London and other key venues have worked too well, with visitor numbers suffering catastrophic falls.

Incredibly, almost a third of the five million people employed in the capital are expected to heed official advice to work from home at some point over the fortnight to avoid disruption which has failed to materialise.

Bare: Overblown warnings of Olympics travel chaos are turning key sites into 'ghost towns' and threatening Britain's economic recovery, say business leaders. This image shows an empty Westfield shopping centre at Shepherds Bush at lunchtime yesterday

Empty: Messages to stay away from London and other key venues have worked too well, with visitor numbers suffering catastrophic falls. A usually heavily congested Blackwall Approach is virtually deserted

Leading attractions, meanwhile, are reporting visitor numbers down by a third on the same period  last year.

Experts insist that even if the short-term economic benefits of hosting the Games do not materialise, Britain will enjoy ‘incalculable’ longer-term benefits in terms of increased trade and tourism.

But pressure is growing for transport bosses to alter their advice to travellers and make it clear Britain is open for business.

Ministers are also facing calls  to rethink their decision to allow hundreds of thousands of civil servants to work from home while the Games are on.

Pleas: Pressure is growing for transport bosses to alter their advice to travellers and make it clear Britain is open for business. Oxford Street in London appears to be empty yesterday afternoon

Worrying: Restaurants in Covent Garden are suffering a down turn in trade as customers stay away from the area

No custom: Ministers are also facing calls to rethink their decision to allow hundreds of thousands of civil servants to work from home while the Games are on. This picture shows an empty Spitalfields Market during lunchtime

Bernard Donoghue, of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, which represents venues ranging from London Zoo to St Paul’s Cathedral, said: ‘There are  two groups of people missing.

'The first are general visitors to London, who are staying clear because  of the perception that it will  be busy.

‘The second are Londoners and Brits who have been warned there will be a transport nightmare. Our message to them is that while it may be sensible to avoid certain peak times and locations, transport is running very smoothly.

‘Ironically there has never been a better time to visit our attractions because the queues are shorter and opening times have been extended.’

Mr Donoghue said advice to travellers should be amended, adding: ‘As long as you avoid peak times and stations, London is surprisingly accessible and open for business.’

According to the world’s largest hotel survey, details of which were published yesterday, a promised influx of visitors is not having the bumper effect on UK businesses for which many were hoping.

One disillusioned hotelier told TripAdvisor that ‘the negative impact of the Olympic Games’ was a nasty surprise for business.

Where is everyone? An unusually quiet Regent Street in London. Businesses say the centre of the city has become a 'ghost town' during the Olympics

Shunned: The Games has attracted 100,000 foreign visitors to London, but this is well below the estimated 300,000 who come during a typical summer

Down the Tube: Olympic stewards wait to give tourists assistance at an unusually quiet Piccadilly Circus

Quiet: Streets in the central shopping area of Greenwich looked almost deserted as the final stages of the team equestrian event got under way

Steve McNamara, of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said  cab drivers had also been hit  hard. He said: ‘Normally about 90 per cent of our customers are Londoners but they’ve all left the city and haven’t been replaced by tourists.

'I don’t know where all these tourists are or how they’re getting about, but London is like a ghost town.’

London Mayor Boris Johnson insisted: ‘Things are going really well. Many, many thousands of  people are flowing into London,  the hotels are busy, the Olympic venues are attracting huge numbers and people are enjoying the brilliant live sites, a raft of free events for all the family and the free sport as well, with hundreds of thousands out over the weekend for the cycling.’

Central reservations: Foreign visitors in Trafalgar Square, with the National Gallery in the background. Major attractions have reported a fall in attendance around the Olympic period

Subdued: The normally bustling Carnaby Street in London's Soho has looked very different since the Olympics began at the weekend

The Prime Minister, meanwhile, has predicted 13billion of economic investment should flow from the Games over four years, some of it from tourism.

Analysis by the Bank of England suggests that the Olympics could add up to 0.25 per cent to gross domestic product in the third quarter, following a slide into a double-dip recession.

But independent economists warned the Games could in fact damage the economy – denting hopes of a short-term Olympic boost.

George Buckley, economist at Deutsche Bank, said: ‘Yes,  there are more people here so there might be more spending, but Oxford Street is quite quiet and there are plenty of people who  are at work but have their feet  on desks watching the Olympics  on TV.

Empty: The scene on Millbank, outside Westminster Palace, at 6pm, when the roads are normally congested

Roomy: Pedestrians walk on the pavement but there was a surprising lack of cars on London Bridge at 2pm

Incredible: London Bridge Underground station was also totally clear during the supposed rush hour

Clear run: Despite a packed Games schedule coinciding with the start of the working week, London's usually packed roads were at times as empty as they are on Christmas Day

'That will hit productivity.’  Andrew Goodwin, economic adviser to the Ernst & Young Item Club, predicted a ‘small positive’ from the Olympics. ‘But it is not going to be the silver bullet that people were hoping for.’

■ The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned that the UK economy will shrink this year – making it the first major international watchdog to forecast a year of contraction.

The economy crashed 0.7 per cent in the second quarter, leaving Britain trapped in the longest downturn for 100 years and the worst double-dip for more than half a century.

Easy rider: This biker practically has the road to himself. The surprising turn of events was partly credited to staff being allowed to work from home

Spot the car: Drivers heeded official advice to stay out of the centre of the capital during the Games fortnight

Happy: In a further attempt to show the world how well the Tube is coping, David Cameron tweeted a picture of himself in a carriage on the way to watch the synchronised diving

Bare: The surprisingly empty roads was credited to staff being allowed to work from home and the decision to open some of the Olympic carriageways to other drivers. This shows the A4 close to Earl's Court

Change of plan: Officials turned off some Games Lanes after Olympic VIPs opted to use public transport

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Some businesses have only themselves to blame for lack of trade. I heard on the radio yesterday morning of a cafe in Covent Garden that is now charging almost £16 for a meal that cost just under £9 two weeks ago. Not only are they not getting the expected extra trade, they are also losing their regular customers, who quite rightly are refusing to play along with such blatant profiteering. The same goes for some hotels, who added in the region of 30% to their prices. The recession hasn't gone away just because the Olympics are on.

- Fiona, London, 01/8/2012 02:39

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i went to Piccadilly circus today and it was packed and the trains were packed and when did they take these pics????

- Jaz , Uk, 01/8/2012 02:35

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MD, Yorks, 31/7/2012 20:13-------------------------------you didn't watch dispatches or panorama did you and you are talking out of your backside. go and read the story about ESA accessment in this paper on how the person has been sacked. I hope you are never ill and need help because you will cry foul. disgusting how the people were treated in the programmes.

- Tory Party is the EVIL Party, London, 01/8/2012 02:31

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thats what u get london. loosing out cas you outed yr own people in driving lanes.....hahah how ironic. usa would never paint olympic signs and take away our street5 just for the olympics. here u either leave early to get where yr goin or u just dont get there...... - tina, iowa usa, 1/8/2012 2:22....... to marry your 13 year old cousin?

- Stu Pidd, Smarter than the average DM reader, 01/8/2012 02:28

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So much for the economy boost! Only to be expected though, bad planning and organisation and repressive sponsorship regimes. Speaks volumes and costs billions!

- jwt, Wolverhampton, 01/8/2012 02:26

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thats what u get london. loosing out cas you outed yr own people in driving lanes.....hahah how ironic. usa would never paint olympic signs and take away our street5 just for the olympics. here u either leave early to get where yr goin or u just dont get there......

- tina, iowa usa, 01/8/2012 02:22

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I blame Thatcher.

- Commie Kevin, Career benefit scrounger, 01/8/2012 02:17

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Lots of reasons. People sick of the rain and bad weather so have gone abroad. Overpriced UK. I can stay in a villa abroad for a week as apposed to a b and b here. Grubby accomodation and crime blighting every town. Need I go on?

- Rob, Swanscombe UK, 01/8/2012 02:17

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I blame the Lie-bore government for the fiasco, especially eurofanatic PM Clement Attlee who let in millions of Bulgarians to live it up on the dole while I work 70 hours for one shilling and ninepence a week. As for Stafford Cripps, Herbert Morrison, and all those other commies, go back to your paymaster Stalin in Moscow! Get us out of the EUSSR by 1946. Vote UKIP.

- Nigel 'Euronator' Farage, Parallel Universe, 01/8/2012 02:10

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Yeh that's right DM. The 12 million people who live in London are all on holiday and no tourists have arrived here either. Honestly what rubbish. It's only day 6 of the Olympics and you're already desperately clutching at straws to prove .... what exactly ... because London is thriving and those pics were taken first thing in the morning. The poor photographer must've been darting down different streets annoyed that people were actually walking through them LOL. Go on red arrow me you whingey, moany, depressing DM readers. You love to wallow in negativity so don't let me down!

- Cathy, UK, 01/8/2012 01:59

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Smith says London Games might be his last as British gymnast revels in bronze medal - Daily Mail

By Sportsmail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 06:16 EST, 31 July 2012 | UPDATED: 06:28 EST, 31 July 2012

Great Britain gymnast Louis Smith is still revelling in Monday's Olympic bronze medal-winning success but revealed London might be his last Games.

The 23-year-old was part of the five-man team who wrote their place in the history books when they claimed Britain's first men's team Olympic medal in a century in a dramatic day at the North Greenwich Arena.

Smith, Max Whitlock, Daniel Purvis, Sam Oldham and Kristian Thomas scored a total of 271.711 as they produced a stunning team performance which exceeded all expectations ahead of the competition.

Can you believe it?: Smith admits the London Games might be his last Olympics

They had initially been awarded silver but a successful appeal by the Japanese team saw their marks increased and they moved to second, pushing Team GB down to third and leaving the Ukraine empty-handed by dropping to fourth as China won gold.

'We're very ecstatic about what we've done. We've overcome a lot of people thinking we couldn't do it,' Smith told ITV's Daybreak.

'We went out there, we had fun and we became Olympic bronze medallists.

'I don't know if I'll be there in four years' time, but I'm sure some of these young ones will be. In four years' time, I'll be 27 - I want kids by then.'

Balance: The British star helped Team GB achieve bronze during Monday's event

Oldham and Whitlock, both 19, along with 20-year-old Purvis look set to keep Britain's gymnastics revival growing apace.

A decade ago Britain were nowhere near the powerhouses of China, Japan and Russia and were ranked 23rd in the world. Now, they have won Olympic bronze, adding to the European team gold they claimed earlier this year.

Liverpool-born gymnast Purvis, who will compete in tomorrow's individual all-around event alongside Thomas, hailed his team-mates following their achievement.

In the medals: The British quintet celebrate bronze in Monday's team event

'There was always an outside chance of us getting a medal, especially with this team of boys - it's like a wolf pack really,' Purvis said.

'After this I think I'm just going to try and enjoy the all-around more.

Dan's the man: Purvis competes on the rings

'There's the possibility of a medal there as well but now I've got one here it will hopefully affect my performance in a better way and make me more relaxed.'

Oldham, reigning Youth Olympic high bar champion, who recovered from a broken collarbone and torn pectoral muscle suffered late last year to compete at the Games, believes this is only the start for success in British gymnastics.

'We've got incredible juniors coming up and hopefully we can do this in four, eight, 12 years time,' Oldham said. 

'The support we've got from everyone in the audience, the British public. Hopefully it's raised the profile of the sport.

'I want to just enjoy this experience and try and take it all in because it's just unbelievable.'

Whitlock, who still has the pommel horse final to come with Smith, said the team was thrilled with getting a medal of any colour.

'We're not annoyed about it. We had no expectations of getting a medal,' he said.

'We wanted to get out there and have fun, and we did.

'First of all we thought we had a silver medal, but silver or bronze medal - it doesn't matter really. We made history.'

Wolverhampton's Thomas admits it will take time for the enormity of what they have achieved to sink in.

He said: 'I'm hoping once the next week or so is out of the way we can just sit down, relax and take a moment just to think that we have just achieved one of the greatest things in history in our sport.'

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Getting tired of the DM's agenda, and not letting you comment on certain stories now. Had to post it here because I can't post it on the story I want. Pathetic.

- RossD89, Lancashire, 31/7/2012 20:52

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Fruity.

- pete, sheffield, 31/7/2012 18:52

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Surely he can have kids and be an Olympian?

- Lauren, Manchester,UK, 31/7/2012 14:58

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Well of you do not return in 2016 olympics you will go out on a massive high! So proud of you Louis Smith & men gymnastics team GB!!!!

- Sian, Kent, 31/7/2012 13:13

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Career over by 27? I swear I saw a Bulgarian in the gymnastics that was touching 40

- marlon Rains, Bromley, 31/7/2012 13:12

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London 2012 Olympics: Ye Shiwen hits out at doubters after claiming second swimming gold medal amid doping row - Daily Telegraph

She won in a thrilling race. Ye, the reigning world champion, went in as the strong favourite, having qualified quickest but she had to fight for the gold.

At the 150m turn from the breaststroke into the freestyle she trailed the American Caitlin Leverenz and Alicia Coutts, of Australia.

She went surging through on the freestyle, however, winning the race convincingly with Coutts second and Leverenz third. Britain’s Hannah Miley came in seventh.

Ariana Kukors, who finished fifth in the lane next to Ye, gave her a hug over the lane rope. It was a display of solidarity but perhaps also a gesture born out of relief: Kukors’s world record of 2-06.15 remained intact.

Ye’s performances have come under scrutiny following the revelation that the time of her final 50m freestyle split in winning the 400m medley in world record time on Saturday night was faster than that recorded by Ryan Lochte in winning the men’s race earlier that evening.

John Leonard, the executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, described the way Ye broke the world record as “disturbing”, and said she “looks like superwoman. Any time someone has looked like superwoman in the history of our sport they have later been found guilty of doping”.

Ye said her improvement was down to good coaching – she said she had been training for five hours a day for nine years. “A teacher in my kindergarten noticed I had a good physique for swimming so they picked me,” Ye said.

“I want to thank my coaches and team-mates, they have been helping me a lot. They have made me strong, which is why I have not been affected by the outside noise.”

Leonard’s suspicions have prompted a backlash at the Games. Lord Moynihan, the chairman of the British Olympic Association, said: “Ye Shiwen has been through the World Anti-Doping Agency programme and she’s clean.”

He was backed up by Lord Coe, chairman of the Olympic Organising Committee. “You have to be very careful jumping to the conclusion that a great breakthrough in sport is down to anything other than great coaching, hard work and formidable talent,” he said. “I think you have to be respectful.”

Adrian Moorhouse, who won Olympic gold in the 100m breaststroke at the 1988 Games in Seoul, called Leonard’s comments “insulting”. “Ye Shiwen is no overnight sensation as she won gold at the World Championships last year,” he said.

“There are a lot of people in China and the base of their pyramid is so wide that if they train thousands and thousands of kids, they might have just found their Michael Phelps.”

Bill Bowman, who coaches Phelps, said: “It is a natural cynicism that results from the history of what has happened with China in this sport.

"Having said that it is unfair to immediately jump on someone who has had an extraordinary swim because it is something that happens. She is beautiful technically.”

Ye revealed that Phelps was her “idol” growing up.

The head of China’s anti-doping programme said Ye had been singled out by biased critics.

“It is not proper to single out Chinese swimmers once they produce good results. Some people are just biased,” said Jiang Zhixue. “We never questioned Phelps when he won eight golds in Beijing.”

Jiang said the performances of China’s swim team were down to sheer hard work. “The Chinese athletes, including the swimmers, have undergone nearly 100 drug tests since they arrived here,” Jiang said.

“Many were also tested by the international federations and the British anti-doping agency. I can tell you that so far there was not a single positive case.”

London trick is to keep up investment - mayor - Reuters UK

By Avril Ormsby

LONDON | Wed Aug 1, 2012 12:47am BST

LONDON (Reuters) - Boris Johnson, the most colourful cheerleader for the 2012 Games, said on Tuesday that the trick will be to maintain momentum once the Olympics are over and the world's attention has moved on.

The Mayor of London, who was first spotted on the world stage, hand in pocket, taking the Olympic flag from the host city Beijing four years ago, is attempting to schmooze international businesses and persuade them to invest in the capital.

"This is the summer to be in London," Johnson told Reuters in an interview. "It's all getting better and better. It's just a great crescendo of excitement.

"There will be, and there are already significant benefits, from hosting the Olympics but the trick is going to be to keep up the momentum."

The mayor's infectious ebullience has already persuaded private companies to sponsor some of his ideas, including a cable car over the River Thames, a self-service bicycles for hire scheme and an orbital tower in the Olympic Park that partly resembles a helter skelter.

Now Johnson hopes that about 100 new foreign companies will come to London, creating an initial 3,000 jobs and 350 million pounds ($548.38 million) of economic benefit.

London & Partners, partly funded by the mayor, is hosting a series of business events during the Games based around creative industries, finance, environmental companies and technology firms.

It is particularly focusing on companies based in China, India and the United States who currently do not have a large presence in the capital city.

KICKING DOWN DOORS

The mayor told a meeting of creative business leaders at the Design Museum, on the River Thames, on Tuesday evening: "We hope to attract more and more people from around the world to invest here and to build up their businesses here, your enterprises.

"We are here to kick down doors for you, help with visas, get things moving."

Johnson told Reuters that investment in the city's infrastructure, including transport, would continue to deliver long-term returns and that there was an "optimism and a confidence now that is fantastic".

About 40,000 jobs have been created on the back of the Games, he said, and a previously neglected part of east London where the Games is being staged has been regenerated.

"We think the long-term benefits to be secured from the Olympics and the Olympic investments will be delivering jobs and growth for London for a long time to come," said the mayor.

Some local politicians criticised Johnson on Tuesday for having invited News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch to an Olympic swimming event despite one of its News International newspapers, the News of the World, being at the centre of a phone-hacking scandal.

"I have a big programme of engagements and it is the right thing to do," the mayor said.

"It's harder to think of anybody who's done more to sponsor and support British sport by the way."

BSkyB sponsors Britain's highly successful cycling team, Team Sky.

Johnson, whose ruffled blond hair, apparent disrespect for the politically banal, and, some say, affected bumbling manner, has made him a household name in Britain and a much touted future British prime minister.

He is so well known that people and the media refer to him simply as Boris.

His profile, and that of London, has risen during the past 12 months after the royal wedding involving Prince William and Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee to mark her 60 years on the throne.

When asked if Londoners can expect a Boris premiership in the future, he said: "No, no, no, that is never going to happen".

($1 = 0.6382 British pounds)

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

London tourist trade suffers from Olympic effect - Reuters UK

By Paul Casciato and James Davey

LONDON | Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:03pm BST

LONDON (Reuters) - Tube trips are surprisingly easy, shopping on the high street is down in central London, hotel bookings and prices are off their peak, while theatres and London cafes suffer the Olympic effect.

Economists have long warned that the Olympics may not provide much of a boost at this stage for Britain's recession-hit economy as most of the construction work and investment has been done in the run-up to the Games. Now, early evidence appears to be bearing this out.

Warned repeatedly for months about the strain London's transport system would experience with the expected arrival of 11 million visitors to the Games, Londoners and the usual non-Olympic seasonal visitors appear to have vanished from the underground train system, the shopping districts, theatres, hotels and abandoned other traders who benefit from tourism.

The British government's budget watchdog OBR pointed out in March that some visitors may cancel or delay trips to London in order to avoid the crowds and potential travel disruptions.

"Given the uncertainties and the relatively small size of any possible effects, we assume that, apart from the ticket sales effects, the Olympics will not have a material effect on the quarterly path of GDP," the OBR said.

Britain's government is trying to boost foreign investment and stimulate the private sector, while keeping to a strict austerity budget, and hopes the Olympic Games - the first to be held in Britain since 1948 - will showcase Britain as a business destination.

Prime Minister David Cameron hopes that will help assuage critics who see the 9.3 billion pound (14.5 billion) cost of hosting the Olympics as too expensive given Britain's strained finances.

London's much criticised public transport system, the busiest in Europe, won early gold for easily carrying a million spectators through an unusually quiet early rush hour on the first full working day of the Olympics on Monday.

Travellers said buses and trains were working surprisingly smoothly with only a few hiccups, confounding dire forecasts of a transport meltdown in a city once notorious for slow trains, late buses and incoherent delay announcements.

London's transport bosses expect an extra 3 million journeys per day during the Games on top of the usual 12 million, an Olympian test for an underground train network whose infrastructure in parts dates back to 1863.

"I've noticed how easy it has been to travel. With the influx of one million people for the Games, it's made me wonder, where are they?" Paul Richardson, a 37-year-old photographer, told Reuters on Monday at London Bridge, which the authorities had warned commuters to avoid.

WORKING FROM HOME

Part of the lighter load has come from those office workers who have been instructed or allowed to work from home while the Olympics are on.

Consultancy firm KPMG told Reuters that it expected some 50 percent of its 5,500 staff in London to work flexibly at some point during the Games.

"That could mean working from home, or a different office, or varying hours," a KPMG spokesman said.

Most theatres in London's West End have not seen traffic increase or fall for advanced August bookings and shut down last Friday to avoid clashing with an opening Olympic ceremony, which starred Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Society of London Theatre President Mark Rubinstein told Reuters on Tuesday.

He said the anecdotal evidence was that there seemed to be a lot of people on the streets of London, but much of the seasonal London tourist traffic seems missing from the West End.

"There's been fewer people buying tickets on the day," Rubinstein said.

Britain's two biggest airports said they had seen no significant increase in the number of passengers flying abroad while Eurotunnel said outward bound bookings on Channel Tunnel trains were slower than usual.

More than 10 million people braved torrential rain and then scorching summer temperatures to see the Olympic flame on its 8,000 mile (12,870 km) journey across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, according to Games organiser LOCOG.

Only one in 10 travellers is leaving London to avoid the Games, according to a survey by the Association of British Travel Agents. Seven out of 10 Londoners were even looking forward to the Games, the survey showed.

"Numbers taking holidays at this time are fairly consistent with past years," said ABTA spokeswoman Victoria Bacon.

"While some have chosen to forgo a summer holiday during the Games, these have been balanced by those wanting to get away," she said.

That statistical and anecdotal evidence contrasts with the doomsday predictions by some of the British media that Londoners would flock to foreign shores to avoid the security checks, crowds and chaos of the Olympics.

DISAPPOINTED RETAILERS

Retailers in central London have also reported disappointment with the Olympic effect so far.

Jace Tyrrell, spokesman for New West End Company, which represents more than 600 retailers, property owners and businesses in central London, said they expected a change in trading patterns, but that advice from Transport for London (TfL) warning commuters may be working better than intended.

"TfL's advice in terms of capacity on the network has almost been too successful," Tyrrel told Reuters, adding that shopper numbers were down but there were more high-spenders in the British capital.

"We need to change the messaging there, in terms of there aren't the difficulties on the network that we thought there would be."

However, retail areas near the Olympic Park such as the vast Westfield shopping centre at the entrance were booming.

John Lewis, Britain's biggest department store group, said its store at Westfield Stratford, which borders the Olympic Park, saw sales double in the week to July 28.

Other London tourist attractions also complained that there has been a 30 to 35 percent drop in visitor numbers at the height of their summer high season, when schools are out and many people take their vacations.

Bernard Donoghue, chief executive of The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, the body representing London's top tourist attractions such as the London Zoo, St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey said the statistics apply to overseas and domestic visitors.

"We and all of our members are incredibly positive about London and Britain hosting the Olympics not least because the tourism legacy of hosting the Olympics and having that global TV advertisement for Britain to the world's largest TV audience will be brilliant for British tourism in the long term."

HOTELS AND CAFES

Hotel wholesaler JacTravel said room rates are back to normal levels, as an early peak in prices has faded as LOCOG returns previously booked rooms to the market and as the Olympic Games deters normal London tourists.

Restaurants and other hospitality business owners such as cafes have also been bemoaning the quiet streets of London.

"It is very quiet," said Duli Konjuhi, who runs a coffee stall right at the exit of Aldgate tube station in London's City, the old banking district, where usually bankers and office workers line up for their after-lunch shot of caffeine.

"For us the Olympics are negative," he said. "One of my friends, who runs a car wash near-by, said he made just 60 quid yesterday."

An elderly British man, finishing a meal at a near-empty restaurant in the central Russell Square area where hordes of media catch coaches to Olympic venues every day asked the head waiter: "Where are all your customers?"

The waiter explained that many Londoners were working at home or avoiding the city for the duration of the Games.

"It's a disaster for us," he said.

(Additional reporting by Avril Ormsby, Sven Egenter, William Maclean and Brenda Goh)

London 2012 Olympics: day four – as it happened - The Guardian

Good morning and welcome to day four of the London 2012 Olympics.

China has become embroiled in the first doping controversy of the London Games after one of the world's most respected coaches, the American John Leonard, executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, described the swimming prodigy Ye Shiwen's gold medal performance as "unbelievable" and "disturbing".

China is currently top of the medal table with nine golds. The USA is second with five, and France is third with three.

Britain is in 20th place with one silver and two bronzes, following yesterday’s stunning third-place finish for the male gymnasts – which was so nearly a silver.

There are 15 medals up for grabs today, so all this could change dramatically by the end of the day. Or China and the USA could win lots more medals.

Coming up today:

• 9am onwards: Kobe Bryant and his team-mates on the US basketball team continue their campaign for gold, today taking on Tunisia. Meanwhile, Britain, who lost their opening match against Russia, need to beat Brazil to keep alive their hopes of progressing.

• 10am: Fencing: the men’s individual foil gold medal will be decided at the North Greenwich Arena today. Three British athletes will be competing, with the highest hopes for James David and Richard Kruse.

• 10.30am: The fourth and final day of the eventing competition. Can Zara Phillips win the first royal Olympic medal? The individual honours look out of her reach, but the British riders – including Mary King and world No 1 William Fox-Pitt – are well-placed to challenge for the team gold.

• 11.30am onwards: At Wimbledon, Venus Williams plays Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak in the second round on centre court, followed by Andy Murray v Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. After that Andy Roddick plays Novak Djokovic, and then Britain’s Laura Robson plays Maria Sharapova. On court one, Maria Kirilenko of Russia plays Britain’s Heather Watson, among other matches. In the doubles, Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel play Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.

• Midday: In the sailing, Britain’s Ben Ainslie has a great chance of gold in the Finn class, as does Paul Goodison in the Laser. The regattas continue today, with the medal races at on Sunday and Monday.

• 1.30pm: Britain’s David Florence, a silver medallist in Beijing, hopes to go one better this afternoon when he lines up in the men’s canoe slalom. The semi-finals and finals take place today.

• 2pm: The Royal Artillery barracks will host the men’s skeet shooting finals, where the world record holder Vincent Hancock of the US will defend his title.

• 2.10pm: Olympic champions Hungary play Montenegro in the water polo. Britain is also playing, at 10am against Serbia.

• 4.30pm: Gymnastics. Team GB’s women – including uneven bars expert Beth Tweddle and 15-year-old Rebecca Tunney, the squad’s youngest and shortest member – face tough competition in today’s team final. The US achieved the highest qualification score to participate.

• 4.15pm: A geopolitical grudge match as Serbia play Croatia in the men's handball preliminary round. Serbia are fourth in the world rankings to Croatia's 13th.

• 7.30pm onwards: And there’s a dramatic evening ahead in swimming finals at the Aquatics Centre. American arch-rivals Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will team up at 8.45pm for the 4x200m freestyle relay final, less than an hour after Phelps – who is hoping to overtake gymnast Larisa Latynina as the most decorated Olympic athlete in history – has taken part in the 200m butterfly final. Meanwhile the US’s Missy Franklin and perhaps also Britain’s Caitlin McClatchey will race in the 200m freestyle final at 7.40pm.

• 7.45pm: Great Britain – who have been very impressive so far – play Brazil in their final group-stage match in the women’s football tournament. Britain have won both their previous group matches so are already through to the quarter-finals, but both teams tonight will want to top the table to avoid meeting world champions Japan in the quarter-finals. The brilliantly-named Brazilian Marta has been Fifa’s world player of the year five times. Elsewhere in women’s football, New Zealand play Cameroon, Japan play South Africa, the USA play North Korea, Canada play Sweden, and France play Colombia.